Date: 20011031
Docket: IMM-6020-00
Neutral Citation: 2001 FCT 1176
BETWEEN:
KHADIDJA BENAMMAR
Applicant
- and -
THE MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP
AND IMMIGRATION
Respondent
REASONS FOR ORDER AND ORDER
TREMBLAY-LAMER J.:
[1] This is an application for judicial review of a decision by a visa officer in the Canadian Embassy in Paris, dated September 29, 2000, rejecting the visitor's visa application of Khadidja Benammar (the applicant). Ms. Benammar is a citizen of Algeria and wishes to obtain a visa in order to visit her daughters in Canada.
[2] This application was rejected on September 29, 2000 on the ground that the applicant had not demonstrated to the officer's satisfaction that she did not wish to settle in Canada as an immigrant. That decision is the subject of this application for judicial review.
[3] The applicant argues that the visa officer erred in law and in fact and made unreasonable and capricious findings without regard for all the material that was before him in his assessment of the evidence.
[4] Subsection 2(1) of the Immigration Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. I-2 (the "Act") defines the word "visitor" as follows:
| "visitor" means a person who is lawfully in Canada, or seeks to come into Canada, for a temporary purpose, other than a person who is (a) a Canadian citizen, (b) a permanent resident, (c) a person in possession of a permit, or (d) an immigrant authorized to come into Canada pursuant to paragraph 14(2)(b), 23(1)(b) or 32(3)(b). |
« visiteur » Personne qui, à titre temporaire, se trouve légalement au Canada ou cherche à y entrer, à l'exclusion_: a) des citoyens canadiens; b) des résidents permanents; c) des titulaires de permis; d) des immigrants visés aux alinéas 14(2)b), 23(1)b) ou 32(3)b). |
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[5] The Act clearly indicates that it is the applicant's responsibility to prove that he or she is not an immigrant. Subsections 9(1.2) and 9(4) read as follows:
| 9 (1.2) A person who makes an application for a visitor's visa shall satisfy a visa officer that the person is not an immigrant. 9 (4) Subject to subsection (5), where a visa officer is satisfied that it would not be contrary to this Act or the regulations to grant landing or entry, as the case may be, to a person who has made an application pursuant to subsection (1) and to the person's dependants, the visa officer may issue a visa to that person and to each of that person's accompanying dependants for the purpose of identifying the holder thereof as an immigrant or a visitor, as the case may be, who, in the opinion of the visa officer, meets the requirements of this Act and the regulations. |
9 (1.2) La personne qui demande un visa de visiteur doit convaincre l'agent des visas qu'elle n'est pas un immigrant. 9 (4) Sous réserve du paragraphe (5), l'agent des visas qui est convaincu que l'établissement ou le séjour au Canada du demandeur et des personnes à sa charge ne contreviendrait pas à la présente loi ni à ses règlements peut délivrer à ce dernier et aux personnes à charge qui l'accompagnent un visa précisant leur qualité d'immigrant ou de visiteur et attestant qu'à son avis, ils satisfont aux exigences de la présente loi et de ses règlements. |
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[6] Subsection 13(2) of the Immigration Regulations, 1978, SOR/78-172 (the "Regulations") is also relevant to the case at bar. It provides:
| 13 (2) A visa officer may issue a visitor's visa to any person who meets the requirements of the Act and these Regulations if that person establishes to the satisfaction of the visa officer that he will be able (a) to return to the country from which he seeks to come to Canada; or (b) to go from Canada to some other country. |
13 (2) L'agent des visas peut délivrer un visa de visiteur à toute personne qui satisfait aux exigences de la Loi et du présent règlement, si cette personne prouve, d'une façon jugée satisfaisante par l'agent des visas, qu'elle pourra a) retourner dans le pays d'où elle sollicite l'admission au Canada; ou b) se rendre dans un autre pays. |
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[7] This Court has held many times that a visa officer's decision to issue a visitor's visa is discretionary in nature (De La Cruz v. Canada (M.E.I.) (1989), 26 F.T.R. 285, Benoit v. M.C.I. (1997), 46 Imm. L.R. (2d) 160, to the same effect). The applicable standard of review in this case is that of reasonableness simpliciter.
[8] A reading of the visa officer's notes shows that the applicant's visa application was rejected because of the tense situation in Algeria and because two of the applicant's daughters had come to Canada and requested refugee status. The visa officer was not satisfied that she would not do the same thing.
[9] Essentially, the applicant disagrees with the assessment that was made of her application for a visitor's visa. She has not demonstrated that the visa officer misapplied her discretionary authority or that her finding was made in bad faith or is improper or that there was no evidence to support her conclusion. There is therefore no factor that would allow the Court to find that the decision is unreasonable.
[10] Consequently, the application for judicial review is dismissed.
"Danièle Tremblay-Lamer"
Judge
MONTRÉAL, QUEBEC
October 31, 2001.
Certified true translation
Suzanne M. Gauthier, LL.L., Trad. a.
FEDERAL COURT OF CANADA
TRIAL DIVISION
Date: 20011031
Docket: IMM-6020-00
Between:
KHADIDJA BENAMMAR
Applicant
- and -
THE MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP
AND IMMIGRATION
Respondent
REASONS FOR ORDER
AND ORDER
FEDERAL COURT OF CANADA
TRIAL DIVISION
NAMES OF COUNSEL AND SOLICITORS OF RECORD
DOCKET NO: IMM-6020-00
STYLE: KHADIDJA BENAMMAR
Applicant
- and -
THE MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP
AND IMMIGRATION
Respondent
PLACE OF HEARING: Montréal, Quebec
DATE OF HEARING: October 30, 2001
REASONS FOR ORDER OF MADAM JUSTICE TREMBLAY-LAMER
DATED: October 31, 2001
APPEARANCES:
Nathalie Leblanc FOR THE APPLICANT
Michel Pépin FOR THE RESPONDENT
SOLICITORS OF RECORD:
Nathalie Leblanc FOR THE APPLICANT
Montréal, Quebec
Morris Rosenberg FOR THE RESPONDENT
Deputy Attorney General of Canada
Montréal, Quebec